The Intel Extreme Masters are back, and this time the event will be held in Sydney, with the winner taking away one hundred thousand dollars in prize money. While competition is of course going to be intense, the first day will have the usual mismatches usual to any big event. This creates a series of sure wins that you can bet on, where tier one teams crush tier two and tier three teams. Teams will be going all out for victory here, since the winners of groups A and B will move directly into the Semifinals.

A victory here will also assure the winning team of a place in the first season of the Intel Grand Slam, and a chance at the million dollar prize there. Fnatic is already in the running for the Intel Grand Slam, having won the last Intel Extreme Masters, as is Astralis since they won the last DreamHack event.

Two teams, Natus Vincere and Space Soldiers, will be missing this Intel Extreme Masters – this is due to visa issues. They have been replaced by G2 Esports and Legacy Esports. There are six invited teams here, overall, including Cloud9, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, mousesports, Renegades and SK Gaming. Two teams came in from the European qualifiers, those being Astralis and G2 Esports, while NRG Esports made their entry through the North American qualifers. This time, there will be three teams representing Asia, those being MVP PK, Tyloo and B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape. Four teams have also come in from the Oceanic qualifiers, those being Grayhound Gaming, Chiefs Esports Club, ORDER and Legacy Esports.

Bonus earnings as you bet on the Group Winners

The winners of the two groups are more predictable here than is usual, ensuring that you can pick up some extra cash by placing a bet on the winners of each group.

Group A consists of FaZe Clan, SK Gaming, Cloud9, Renegades, ORDER, Legacy Esports, Grayhound and Tyloo. The obvious top dogs here are Cloud9 and SK Gaming. Cloud9 have odds of 4.00 running on them on bet365, while and SK Gaming have odds of 3.00.

Group B consists of Astralis, mousesports, Fnatic, NRG Esports, MVP PK, B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape, Chiefs Esports Club and G2 Esports. There is no doubt that Astralis are best team in Group B, though mousesports aren’t bad either. Astralis have odds of 2.62 running on them, so stake on them to dominate Group B.

These bets represent a very reasonable opportunity for profit, and the winners of each group are easily predictable, something that is especially true for group B. Let’s move on to the day’s matches, where you can find a lot of very predictable bets at very reasonable odds.

A Series of Sure Wins on the First Day of the IEM

FaZe Clan Vs ORDER

There’s little doubt as to what will happen here, despite the fact that FaZe has been playing rather under par. Xizt was hardly a good addition to the team meta, with FaZe failing miserably against Cloud9 and Astralis. The only win they managed to take with Xizt on board was against Team EnVyUs. While FaZe Clan are certainly feeling the effects of olofmeister’s being on leave, there is no way they’re losing against ORDER, and with bet365 giving odds of 1.50 on Faze Clan, this is an excellent opportunity to earn on a sure win.

Image Credit: FaZe Clan

Legacy Esports Vs Renegades

This is a match between two Australian teams, Renegades and Legacy Esports. While these teams might seem equal in terms of LAN matches, the experienced analyst knows that Renegades regularly compete on the international front, as opposed to Legacy, who have mainly competed within Australia. This means that Renegades are a very experienced team, and likely to put Legacy Esports down hard here. There really isn’t an Australian team that can match Renegades, which, with odds of 1.60 running on them at bet365, makes this a reasonable chance at good winnings.

Cloud9 Vs Grayhound

If anything could be a sure win, this would be it. There’s no need to even compare the stats of these two teams. While Grayhound are – rather obviously – going to be steamrolled by Cloud9, you’re still getting odds of 1.50 on the latter on bet365, which promises good earnings on a sure bet.

Tyloo Vs SK Gaming

Here’s another match that’s similar to the previous one’s. While SK Gaming have certainly been through a bad patch recently, there’s no chance that Tyloo will defeat them. With bet365 giving odds of 1.57 on SK Gaming, this is an excellent opportunity for those who prefer to bet high on matches that are a sure thing.

NRG Esports VS Astralis

This is the only pairing on the first day at the IEM where both the teams are tier one teams. NRG Esports must not be underestimated, as we’ve seen from their performances at both the ECS and the EPL. Nevertheless, Astralis are certainly the better team, and have the upper hand here. We’re getting odds of 1.57 on them at bet365, which is actually a little low for such a tough match up – but which are nevertheless reasonable odds when Astralis are sure to win.

G2 Esports VS MVP PK

A similar mismatch to the previous ones, with G2 Esports going up against the little-known MVP PK. This match offers G2 the first step towards a comeback attempt, and G2 are certain to take it. With the odds on G2 running at 1.57, a bet on them is a good chance to add some surplus to your bank.

Chiefs Esports Club Vs Fnatic

It’s the last match on the first day of the IEM, and it pits the winners of the most recent IEM, Fnatic, against Chiefs Esports Club. Chiefs are certainly going down here, as their team plays and individual skills simply aren’t well tuned enough to go up against the likes of Fnatic. With bet365 offering odds of 1.50 on Fnatic, this match up is a definite boost to your bank.

These are the most carefully formulated match predictions, by analysts who thoroughly study team histories and playing styles. Stay tuned for more match-by-match analyses and predictions for this event. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest on your favourite Esports titles.